And the world moves on

Oh, oh, oh, I wanna go! This can be my birthday present!

via The Brothers Brick:

We have received word, from Steve Witt, that there will be a Master Builder Event at the Downtown Disney LEGO Store in Orlando, Florida. The dates are November 7 – 9. What can you do? Help build a LEGO Pirate, 8 feet tall! Dan Steininger, a Lego Master Builder, will be building this new model with the help of the whatever LEGO fans are present! All participants will receive a free Certificate of Achievement (while supplies last), $5 off coupons, and special offers in the store. They will also be holding a raffle for a $50 Gift Card. Hours are 11-7 on Friday, 10-6 on Saturday, and 11-6 on Sunday. Be there or be square!

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Who hasn't done this?

From the Orlando Sentinel:

An Orlando man faces two counts of exposure of sexual organs, accused of twice driving through the Lake Jesup toll plaza on State Road 417 with his pants pulled down and his genitals exposed.

Michael John McDonnell, 39, was arrested this morning at his residence. According to an arrest affidavit, he is a delivery driver for beer distributor Wayne Densch Inc. in Sanford.

Seminole County deputy sheriffs were called to the toll plaza in the early morning hours of last Wednesday after a toll collector went to hand a motorist change and saw that he was exposing himself. The toll collector told deputies the same thing happened Oct. 9 and at the time she warned him never to come through her lane like that again, Deputy Nelson Pitre wrote in the arrest report.

Maybe he was just trying to get a discount. After all, this particular toll is $2. Can't blame a guy for tryin', can ya'?

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Dirty Old People

Props to Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel for bringing this to my attention.

Fishnets and flu shots? Seniors don't bat an eye at strip club

Norma Smith was a little apprehensive about stepping inside Rachel's for the first time Tuesday afternoon.

Smith, after all, is 77. And while she has often passed by this adult club, she never had the slightest desire to go inside.

But on this day, in addition to dancing women, Rachel's was offering free flu shots to seniors.

So Smith cautiously stepped inside this dimly lit Casselberry club, allowing her eyes to adjust from the midday's beaming sun. When they did, Smith paused.

Standing before her was a woman in fishnet stockings whose smile was winning and whose bustier was losing -- the battle with her cleavage, that is.

Smith returned the smile but later confided she was thinking: "Oh, dear. Is she the one giving me the shot?"

She was not. In fact, if naughty nurses were anywhere in the joint, they were pretty much ignored.

Today, the women in the spotlight were medical professionals. And the only thing they flashed were needles.

Still, the offering was enough to entice dozens of elderly residents: Retired couples. Daughters with their octogenarian mothers. Even a shuttle-load from a nearby Catholic church.

Forget the stock pages. Anyone wondering how deep our economic woes are running needed look no further than the Rachel's dance area, where a lonely negligee-clad performer shimmied for a nearly nonexistent audience -- while dozens of seniors lined up in side rooms for free flu shots. And a pot-roast lunch.

The club ran out of vaccinations after giving 300 last week -- twice as many as years past -- and decided to do so again Tuesday.

"People need the help," said club owner Jim Veigle. "That's why we do it."

Smith, who lives alone on a fixed income, confirmed as much. "If I'd had to come up with fifteen dollars," she said, "I would've missed my shot this year."

Likewise, Bonnie Grillakis jumped at the chance to bring her 87-year-old mother.

"Has my mother ever been here before?" Grillakis replied with a laugh. "Oh, no. I mean, I know people who have. But not my mother. No. No. Really. No."

Still, Grillakis' mom, Edith Kantor, a great-grandmother and former opera singer, became a fast fan of the club that's better known for scantily clad women, MBI raids and political headaches. Besides the shot being painless -- "Honey, if you can stand arthritis, a flu shot's easy." -- Kantor said the stages reminded her of her performing days in the '40s.

"What time can we come back for the show?" she asked her wide-eyed daughter.

The Volovskis weren't quite as excited about the possibility of catching a late-night show. But this retired couple didn't have any qualms about coming to Rachel's, either.

Sixty-seven-year-old Robert Volovski, a retired armored-truck driver, took a practical approach: A free shot at Rachel's was less hassle than dealing with his insurance company or doctor's office.

And his wife, Rita, a recently retired nursery-care worker, said that anyone who dislikes dirty dancing is free to stay out, whether they were offering flu shots or not.

"It's really pretty simple," said Rita, 63. "If you don't like it, don't come in."

Plus, the dancing hasn't really been all that dirty since Seminole County residents voted to ban nudity at the clubs in 1998.

Still, some of the elderly folks who came to Rachel's for flu shots admitted they were a little curious about the club's other offerings. Recalled Veigle: "One woman brought in her 93-year-old mother and told me her mom had always wanted to see a pole dance."

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Orlando Cleared to Offer Same-Sex Partner Benefits

Finally, some decent news from America's wang:

Orlando’s Mayor Buddy Dyer announced Thursday the city plans to extend domestic-partner benefits to gay city employees when the City Council approves changes to its employee health-care policy this coming Monday.

Orlando is the first local government in central Florida to offer same-sex partner benefits to it’s employees, but joins about two dozen other Florida cities which provide such benefits.

Dyer commented; “We’ve been looking at doing it for quite a while. I think it’s the right thing to do.” Same-sex partners will have to sign an affidavit declaring they are in a committed relationship.

But the domestic-partner benefits will apply only to same-sex couples, as unmarried straight couples “have the option of marriage,” Dyer said.

Via::Gay Agenda

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